


i’d be so good to you

by Lire_Casander



Series: in this broken beautiful mess [2]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, The author doesn't know what she's doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27244564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lire_Casander/pseuds/Lire_Casander
Summary: working through the cold has its perks for tk strand
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: in this broken beautiful mess [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1989202
Comments: 8
Kudos: 125





	i’d be so good to you

**Author's Note:**

> beta’ed by [meloingly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meloingly/pseuds/meloingly). any remaining mistakes are my own]
> 
> title from _good to you_ by marianas trench
> 
> written for [tk strand week 2020](https://tkstrandweek.tumblr.com/post/623797377206255616/welcome-to-tk-strand-week-2020-please-join-us-in), **_day 2: “wait, are you jealous?” + romance + tk & the team_**
> 
> written for **_working through the cold_** from my [bad things happen bingo card](https://lire-casander.tumblr.com/post/626174763915722752/welcome-to-my-very-own-bad-things-happen-bingo)

TK is used to working under extreme weather conditions — he became a firefighter back in New York, and he’s worked through the coldest of winters up there. But it isn’t until winter hits Austin that he realizes that his experience with cold and the rest of his team’s experiences are actually _very_ different.

Paul is the only one who takes Austin winter with a disbelieving frown — coming from Chicago, he’s more than used to ice slabs and snow and freezing temperatures than even TK and his father are. TK knows he can count on Paul to work through the cold with ease. He can’t say the same of Marjan, Mateo or even Judd.

“How on Earth can it be so cold?” Mateo complaints as they jump out of the truck. They have been called to a car accident pile in the middle of a vicious storm. “It’s freezing!”

“You don’t know the meaning of _freezing_ ,” Paul retaliates, gloves in place and a determined look in his eyes. “This is just a little drop in temperatures.”

“It’s the coldest winter of the past fifty years,” Judd tells them as he hops down behind them. “And you say it’s just a _little_ drop?”

TK laughs. He follows them out of the truck and approaches the scene, the wind soaking him in the rain that’s already falling so hard it makes it difficult to see beyond a few feet away from himself. He understands that for the Texans — and Marjan’s Floridan experience — a windy storm along with being barely over 40 is way too cold, although it isn’t for him nor his father. But it also gives him some field to play; he gets to be the one to tease instead of being the one teased, for once.

“I knew you were old, Judd, just not _so_ old that you’d remember a winter fifty years in the past,” he jokes, earning himself a glare from Judd and his father.

“Could we please stop the banter and get to work?” his father says, entering Captain mode and shutting down any more jokes. “APD is already here, and the ambulance should be arriving any minute now. Michelle radioed that they were already done with their last call.”

TK nods his assent as he eyes the place, assessing the situation. Until the paramedics arrive — they had been called to a cardiac arrest in a domestic environment — they’re the ones in charge. They have to check the victims and triage them, all while rescuing the ones trapped among the wreckage and cleaning up the site. They have a lot on their plate, but it’s the kind of work he loves — being able to help, showing off his abilities, even if sometimes they have to deal with casualties, is what fuels him.

This is what he’s always been meant to do.

As he approaches the closest car, his eye catches a glimpse of a familiar mop of curls quickly moving from one side to the other as the owner tries to put on the hood of his APD jacket. He smiles broadly; he hadn’t realized that Carlos would be assigned to crowd and traffic control in this scene, but now that he knows, his day has definitely improved. TK knows it’s a weird thing to feel, when there are so many people affected by the storm-related accident, but he can’t help the silly grin that always spreads through his face and the warmth that fills him whenever he sees his boyfriend. There’s another first for him.

Sure, he’s had boyfriends before — he thought of turning one into a fiancé, even, although _that_ didn’t turn out for the best back then — but he's never been as smitten as he is with Carlos Reyes. When he thought he would never love again, that he wasn’t deserving of that trusting blanket to cocoon him ever again, Carlos Reyes had shown up like a knight in shining armor, offering a kind of love that TK had never known.

The kind of love that’s worth fighting for, even when heʼs fighting against himself. The kind of love that’s worth waiting for, even if it means waiting for a lifetime.

TK shakes his head. He needs to focus, because there are lives at stake, and his team counts on him. He follows Paul, who's already working on disassembling a door to rescue a couple trapped in between the wheel and the seats. They're protesting that they’re late to their restaurant reservation, and TK can see how hard Paul is trying not to snap at them. 

“There are people who won't be making it out of here,” Marjan mutters as she passes by them with the Jaws of Life, Mateo tailing along. “And they're bitching about a restaurant?” 

TK pats Paulʼs shoulder to let him know that heʼs moving to the next car, a heap of rebar and leather where he can see a couple of hands waving to catch his attention. 

They work as a team, with the much needed addition of Michelle, Tim and Nancy when they finally arrive, until there aren't more people to rescue and most of the cars are out of the way. By the moment they deem their job done — the ambulances rushing off to different hospitals, the less grave victims wrapped in blankets — the rain has subsided and all of them are left to gather up while the tow trucks clean off the road. TK shakes the droplets of rain that have stuck to his fringe, plastering his hair to his forehead, and looks around to assess where his teammates are. His father is shaking slightly but he's wearing his coat and his hair is only ever slightly damped — TK knows he shouldn’t worry so much about his father, ever since he'd gotten the clearance from his doctors, but he canʼt help it. He grins when he sees his father laughing at the rest of their crew, a sure sign that there isn’t a threat of him being uncomfortable under the wet clothes. 

He sees Paul handing Marjan and Mateo a couple of blankets as Judd is drying his hair off after taking off his helmet.

“There’s no way I’m allowing anyone to set foot into the truck while dripping a whole _ocean_ ,” he’s saying, throwing some towels to the rest. “We’re going to catch some pneumonia here.”

TK laughs at that — this is just a little rain they’ve found themselves caught into. They will all survive, they just need to stop complaining so much about a gust of wind and a few clouds in the sky. “You would never survive in New York City!” he calls out.

“Good thing we don’t want to move up North, then,” comes the reply in the voice of one Carlos Reyes, whom TK hadn’t noticed before but sees now, a few feet away from the 126 crew, closer to his cruiser but on his own. TK can see his partner talking to someone from a different cruiser a bit away. He smiles softly until he realizes what he’s staring at.

Carlos is currently soaking from the rain and shivering so violently that TK can hear his teeth chattering from a distance. 

He’s moving before he can rationally think about it, rushing to the firetruck and grabbing a few blankets — he doesn’t notice he’s dragging at least two through the mud on the floor, such is his haste to reach his boyfriend. Carlos is leaning against the vehicle, gloved hands around his middle in order to keep some warmth inside, but it’s to no avail. TK can see how his limbs quaver under the cold that’s undoubtedly seeped into his bones.

“Here,” he says affectionately once he halts in front of Carlos. “This should help you get some warmth.” He gently unravels one blanket and places it around Carlos’ shoulders.

Carlos leans in on him, his forehead barely touching TK’s as he mutters, “No need to get out of your way to help me. I wasn’t _that_ cold.”

“Are you sure? Because you’re still shaking. Actually,” TK whispers back. “I think you need human warmth as well.”

Carlos chuckles, but allows TK to wrap his arms around him as well, so close to Carlos that they could be fused together. 

“Please promise me weʼd never be more worried about a stupid restaurant reservation than about humans being potentially hurt,” TK mutters, a clear reminder of the first interaction heʼs overheard tonight. 

“That’s easy,” Carlos retaliates. “Iʼd rather not be involved in any kind of accident, with or without you.” 

“Or finding out because Iʼm the one who got the call,” TK keeps on, shuddering just at the thought. 

“I can't promise you that, but I can promise to try not to be the one you have to rescue,” Carlos says evenly. 

“I love you so much,” TK declares, leaning in for a kiss, allowing Carlos to claim his lips. He ignores the sharp bite of coldness he feels when his mouth brushes against Carlos’, chapped lips rough under his ministrations. He’s just elated to be able to keep kissing his boyfriend under any circumstance — cold and rain and winter be damned.

“And I love you, so, so much,” Carlos says back when he pulls up for air. He leans back to gaze at TK, who can't help the blush spreading through his face and neck upon it. 

But they don’t stay apart for long, gravitating back toward each other like the different moons to Jupiter. Their foreheads fully touch once again, their noses softly brushing before the catcalls from the rest of TKʼs team reach their ears. 

“TK!” his father calls him. “Enough body heat sharing for now! There are other people around in need of those blankets!” 

“Guess that's my cue to move,” TK says, dropping a gentle kiss on Carlosʼ nose. “See you later?” 

“Will be waiting for you at home,” Carlos promises. TK grins at the surreal idea of them actually having a _home_. 

How far theyʼve come. How far _he_ has come. 

And to think that there was a time, in the beginning, that he even doubted fitting in. That this was his choice. That he belonged here. 

Darkest times that are better left behind, for sure. 

“TK, back to the truck! Bring the blankets with you!” 

“Woah,” Paul exclaims, and TK can hear the teasing tone in his voice. “Sounds like someone is jealous of some love in front of him!” 

“The rest of us are wet and cold too, and we don't get special treatment,” his father tries to explain, but his words are drowned in a myriad of laughters as TK extricates himself from Carlosʼ embrace. 

He offers a cheeky smile before gathering the rest of the blankets and making his way back to his team, among more wolf whistles and Paulʼs snarky comments aimed at his father. 

It dawns on him as he’s retreating back to the truck, hands full with the spare blankets and heart swollen with all the love he feels for a certain police officer.

“Wait, wait, Dad, are _you_ jealous?”

The chorus of laughter and Carlos’ reddening face are all the answer he needs before he reaches the truck, a signal that he is, indeed, where he is supposed to.


End file.
